faculty
The teachers at Inspire Academy are all accomplished musicians and artists
who love to share the joys of music and art with their students. To learn more about our
teachers, click on the links below.
AP Music Theory
Danielle Naler
Guitar
Ben Barron
Piano
Victoria Ball
Debbie Boyden
Danielle Naler
Michelle Rank
Tamriko Siprashvili (owner/founder)
Violin
Lisa Pratt
Voice
Sarah Franklin
Patrycja Poluchowicz
Tamriko
Siprashvili (Inspire Academy owner/founder, piano). Tamriko
is an award-winning pianist who has performed at concerts around the world.
A native of the Republic of Georgia, she began playing the piano when she
was 3 and was trained at both a special music school for gifted children
as well as the Moscow Conservatory of Music. Tamriko has recorded several
CDs of piano music, both as a soloist and as part of a piano duo with
her former husband and partner, Mark Anderson. In addition to pursuing
her piano concert and recording career, Tamriko delights in sharing her
love for music with students through private piano lessons. She hopes
that the students at Inspire Academy will truly be inspired and challenged
to express themselves musically and artistically. Tamriko is a Steinway
Artist.
Danielle Naler (piano and AP music theory). Danielle has been teaching piano for more than a decade and is vice-president of the Alameda East branch of the Music Teachers’s Association of California. She has a master’s degree in piano performance from the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University, where she studied with acclaimed pianist Yael Weiss and interned with master teacher Karen Taylor. Danielle is a fellow at the Music Academy of the West, where she plays in the Collaborative Piano program under the direction of Jonathan Feldman, a professor from The Juilliard School. She also plays as a duo with her husband, Micah, a violinist.
Michelle Rank (Piano). Michelle recently moved to California from the East Coast bringing with her a broad spectrum of experience and skill to the Inspire Music Academy. She obtained degrees in both voice and piano from Louisiana College and continued her studies at Ithaca College. A classical pianist by training, she studied with acclaimed concert pianist Katerina Zaitseva and Dr. Nelita True from the Eastman School of Music. Music has been her life's passion since she was 5 years old when she first started playing piano. She has lived this passion through acting and directing musical theater, through piano and vocal performances in Europe and across the United States, and through teaching the past ten years. Michelle enjoys teaching all ages and levels of students and helping them build confidence in their ability to achieve, both academically and socially.
Sarah Franklin (voice). An
outstanding teacher who has maintained a private voice studio in Pleasanton
for more than 30 years, Sarah is also an amazing singer whose talent has
been repeatedly recognized through scholarships, fellowships, and performance
opportunities at world-class venues. Sarah has a bachelor’s degree in music
and a master’s degree from The Juilliard School. She has sung at Lincoln
Center, the Metropolitan Museum, and the Juilliard Opera Theater and has
performed with various symphonies and choral groups, including the St. Louis
Symphony, the Oakland Symphony, the Peninsula Symphony, the Carmel Bach
Festival, Schola Cantorum in Palo Alto, the Santa Cruz Symphony, West Bay
Opera, Valley Concert Chorale, I Cantori di Carmel, the Pleasanton Chamber
Players and Pippin Pocket Opera.
Ben
Barron (guitar). Growing up in a musical family, Ben began
piano studies at age 5 and at age 9 began his passion with playing
the guitar. Ben joined his father and brothers in musical performances
starting at age 10, played the guitar professionally throughout his
teens, and also began studying with renowned guitarist Rey DeLaTorre.
Ben has a bachelor’s degree in music and a master’s in classical guitar
performance from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, where he
studied twentieth-century guitar compositions with David Tanenbaum
and Dusan Bogdanovic. He later worked with master guitarist, George
Sakellariou. Ben’s solo guitar CD, 20th Century
Romantics, was heralded as a “fine disc” by Classical Guitar
Magazine. Ben is active as a teacher and a performer in the San
Francisco Bay Area and has performed live on television and radio.
Ben is completing The Very Best of Joe Pass, a book of more
than 25 solos transcribed by Ben and guitarist Warren Haskell. Visit
Ben's Web site
http://benbarronguitar.com for
more information on Ben and to hear a sample of his beautiful music.
Patrycja
Poluchowicz (voice). When Patrycja launched her singing career
in her native Poland at age 12, she focused mainly on the pop and musical-theater
genres. Later on, however, she developed an interest in and everlasting
love for classical music, graduating from the Music Academy in Lodz,
Poland, with a master’s of arts degree in vocal and acting. Patrycja
made her professional debut at Poland’s Grand Theater, where she sang
the roles of Susanna in Mozart’s Marriage of Figaro and of Pamina in
The Magic Flute. In 2001, Patrycja moved to the United States and earned
a second master’s degree from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.
Patrycja’s many roles in opera and musical-theater productions have included
the Countess (The Marriage of Figaro) at the Cowell Theater in San Francisco;
Papagena (The Magic Flute) with the West Bay Opera; Olympia (The Tales
of Hoffmann) at the Bay Area Summer Opera Theater Institute; and, recently,
Anna (The Haunted Manor) with the Pocket Opera. Patrycja was also part
of the Sarasota Opera’s Young Artists Program in Florida, where she performed
in many concerts and opera productions. Her new CD, The Wonderful World
of Opera and Operetta, was recorded with the Opole Symphony Orchestra
and was released last year to great success.
Lisa
Pratt (violin). Lisa teaches and performs classical violin throughout
the San Francisco Bay Area. She holds a Bachelor of Music degree
with honors in violin performance from the University of Arizona School
of Music where
she studied with James Buswell, currently professor of violin at the New
England Conservatory of Music. Lisa’s performance background
includes over three years as principal second violin (third concertmaster)
of the Baden Baden Philharmoniker in Germany, and many years of
performing and touring with the San Francisco Ballet Orchestra. She currently maintains a private teaching studio, teaches violin and chamber music in private schools and is a member of the violin faculty for The Young Musician’s Program at UC Berkeley. Lisa is a member of the local
chapter of the American String Teacher’s Association (ASTA) and recently
participated in that organization’s first adjudications for young string
players. Lisa
does free-lance performance with such groups as Santa Rosa Symphony,
Fremont Symphony, Oakland Ballet and Oakland Symphony. She also served
for multiple years in the Young Audiences program, which brings the excitement
and fun of classical music to young people through interactive performances
in schools.
Debbie
Boyden (piano). Debbie’s
30+ years of piano experience include her time studying piano at both Valparaiso
University and under Vladimir Leyetchkiss in Chicago. Debbie began a private
teaching practice in Danville in 1995 and has taught piano to beginning
and intermediate students in both individual and group settings. Debbie
is an active member of the piano teaching community, hosting and participating
in teaching workshops to share methods and exchange successful techniques.
Victoria
Ball (piano). Ever since starting piano studies at the age of
6, Victoria has incorporated the study and enjoyment of music into her
life at all different levels, including playing several instruments,
singing to her children at bedtime each night, and teaching private piano
lessons for more than 15 years. After working as a graphics designer
for many years, Victoria is pursuing a lifelong dream of teaching piano
lessons full-time at Inspire Academy. Victoria is a patient, enthusiastic
instructor who enjoys teaching beginning/intermediate piano students
of all ages to express their personalities through music. She also has
a special love for guiding young children to explore and spend time in
their imaginations as they begin their music education journeys. Victoria
feels privileged to study concert piano with Tamriko Siprashvili and
follows Tamriko’s example as a piano instructor who faithfully passes
on her technical skills and lovingly encourages her students to be the
best they can be.